Concussions in high school sports: How county schools are responding

Chris Montgomery attempts to pass as Freedom’s Chris Bridges tackles him on Sept. 21, 2012. This season officials will have an emphasis on players leading with the crown of their helmet.

Brittany Randolph/The Star

By Clark Leonard

Published: Thursday, August 22, 2013 at 01:12 PM.

Concussion awareness is constantly growing, particularly with the stories coming out of the NFL about the long-term damage they can cause.

Different methods are regularly being added to help diagnose these dangerous head injuries. And thanks to a donation from Carolinas Healthcare System, all four Cleveland County high schools now have another tool to aid them in that process.

The hospital has provided 300 ImPACT concussion baseline tests and 90 follow-ups for athletes at each county high school. A baseline test is taken while the athlete is healthy, with a follow-up test taken when a concussion is suspected. It helps show how much an athlete’s brain has been affected by a possible injury.

“It’s a valid test because you take the same test under two different circumstances, one with a normal brain and the other with a concussed brain,” said Kings Mountain head athletic trainer Alan Ridenoure.

The test measures memory of shapes and words and other similar cognitive functions. Ridenoure said he tells athletes up front that it’s not an IQ test or about right and wrong answers.

Some of Kings Mountain’s athletes have used the test in two previous school years thanks to a grant Ridenoure won from Dick’s Sporting Goods.

Burns head athletic trainer Brandy Leach is grateful to have the ImPACT tests after previously using Concussion Vital Signs test. She said it’s good for all the county schools to now have the same test.

Concussion awareness is constantly growing, particularly with the stories coming out of the NFL about the long-term damage they can cause.

Different methods are regularly being added to help diagnose these dangerous head injuries. And thanks to a donation from Carolinas Healthcare System, all four Cleveland County high schools now have another tool to aid them in that process.

The hospital has provided 300 ImPACT concussion baseline tests and 90 follow-ups for athletes at each county high school. A baseline test is taken while the athlete is healthy, with a follow-up test taken when a concussion is suspected. It helps show how much an athlete’s brain has been affected by a possible injury.

“It’s a valid test because you take the same test under two different circumstances, one with a normal brain and the other with a concussed brain,” said Kings Mountain head athletic trainer Alan Ridenoure.

The test measures memory of shapes and words and other similar cognitive functions. Ridenoure said he tells athletes up front that it’s not an IQ test or about right and wrong answers.

Some of Kings Mountain’s athletes have used the test in two previous school years thanks to a grant Ridenoure won from Dick’s Sporting Goods.

Burns head athletic trainer Brandy Leach is grateful to have the ImPACT tests after previously using Concussion Vital Signs test. She said it’s good for all the county schools to now have the same test.

The thorough nature of the test is such that Leach said a player wanting to make it back to the field quickly can’t “fake or try to memorize” it.

And even for doctors who may not be well-versed in concussion symptoms, the comparison of the baseline and follow-up tests has great value.

“They’ve got point-blank, black-and-white proof that something is not right with this kid,” Leach said.

Both Ridenoure and Leach said concussion management is headed in the right direction with new resources and rules protecting players. This season in football, an emphasis will be placed on penalties and possible ejections for players leading with the crown of their helmet.

“It’s making us put a much bigger emphasis on tackling the right way: See what you hit,” Shelby football coach Lance Ware said.

While his staff is pushing players to use the proper technique, Ware acknowledges it’s not an easy issue to address in a fast-paced game.

“It’s tough because it all happens so fast,” Ware said.

Ridenoure said the baseline testing is another important tool in diagnosing a brain injury, which isn’t as simple as recognizing knee injuries and other visible problems.

“You might see them stumble over to the sideline,” Ridenoure said. “But what about all the other stuff that’s going on? The confusion. They don’t know where they’re at. They don’t know the score of the game. They don’t know who they’re playing.”

Leach is excited about using the tests and hopeful the school system and hospital continue to see the value, as she hopes to eventually be able to use the tests with her middle school athletes as well. She is using ImPACT with her contact sports and written tests for the others.

Ridenoure has already seen the benefit of the tests, as he had an athlete who was able to take the baseline and follow-up after a concussion during the 2012-13 school year. He’s grateful for the hospital stepping up during tough budget times to help the schools better serve their athletes.

“It’s just another tool that we can use to help doctors make a better decision,” Ridenoure said.

Baseline test works the brain

Kings Mountain head athletic trainer Alan Ridenoure said the ImPACT concussion baseline test exercises the brain. He’s right. I took the test.

The test shows you words, then asks you to determine which ones you saw earlier mixed in with words you didn’t see. It does a similar test with shapes.

Another part of the test asks you to click on a shape if the color of the shape is the same as the word written inside it.

These tasks may not sound tough off-hand, but in the environment of a test and with some of the questions limited to quick response, they provide quite a challenge.

I was nervous taking the test because I wanted to get the right answers. It’s hard for me to imagine how much stress it would put on athlete’s brain after a head injury.